Offset Mortgage - advice

LE3

I am 99.5% sure that I want an Offset mortgage
Offset appeals because I am a saver by nature & should, all things going well, be able to pay it off in about 9 yrs time by saving regularly into the "offset" account - whilst also knowing I have that buffer of savings if the worst were to happen & I was made redundant/needed cash in an emergency.

Experiences of offsets most welcome - along with advice on whether the Barclays/Woolwich one is currently a good deal or if there is a better deal
(One friend told me he wouldn't touch Barclays with a bargepole & I would def prefer a building society to a bank, but the offsets are so few & far between & the coventry rates are truly dire!)

getmore4less

I am with barclays and it is actualy very good but we did have some setup issues due to the branch staff not knowing how to set up the offset accounts properly.(base + 0.95) One feature is Offseting cash ISA'a

Here are a few(no particular order) have a look and search for others then see which might be on your short list.


Barclays
First Direct
One account
Natwest
RBS
Clydsdale
Scottish Widows
Yorkshire
N&P
Market Harborough
Britannia

JournalGirl

We've been on the First Direct offset (Bank of England rate + 0.79%) for 18 months now and it is FANTASTIC.

We're overpaying, but OH also used it to pay off his credit card and pays an additional monthly repayment back to clear his 'debt' to the mortgage.

LE3

Thanks - I wasn't aware of some of those so off hunting for more info now

I very much want the savings to be totally separate to the mortgage, not all in one account (like the One account) & I don't want ridiculous terms like the Market Harborough have ("Please note that if the balance on your savings element exceeds 50% of the balance on your mortgage, the excess amount in the savings element will not be used when calculating the amount of mortgage interest to be offset, and you will receive no interest on the excess" - this seems to negate the point of an offset designed to shorten term!)

I'm not sure about First Direct as I do like to know I can talk to somebody in person if needed, but I will look into it further ...

HappyMJ

I do like the one account. I know it's not flavour of the month though. Whenever I go to a cashpoint to withdraw money it says "You are overdrawn by (let's say) £37,000.00, You can withdraw £450." Throughout the whole time I had it I always questioned myself as to whether I really needed to go further overdrawn. Most of the time I said "No, it can wait." The mortgage got fully offset in 6 years. I've still got it sitting at zero balance but I don't think I'll ever use it again (except in emergency). If I bought another house I'd still stay with it.

dimbo61

I love offset mortgages and have been with Yorkshire Building society for the last 5/6 years.
They have some of the best fixed rate offsets at the moment ( no I dont work for them)
Very happy with the service,fees and can offset 100% plus check out Family and friends option

LE3

Dimbo - the fees for the Yorkshire B/S seem very high at present - £1,795 for the 2 yr fixed at 3.09% ... I know fees have gone right up, but compared to the First Direct Fee Free Base Rate + 2.39%, or even the Coventry's BaseRate+2.80% Tracker at £999 that seems huge!

Anyone have any further experience of the First Direct mortgage - like how easy/long it took to set up etc?
I found another possibility with the Hinckley & Rugby B/S so will phone up abt that one.

Where do I go to get more advise on mortgages? I'm so ridiculously confused today (it would prob help if I just make a decision & stick with it!)

I currently have accts with Barclays, Coventry & Nationwide if that helps at all.

dimbo61

You picked the only ( and lowest rate 2 year fix at 3.09%) that has a £1795 fee.
All the other deals are £995 and I would go for at least 3/5 years to give you time to OP or save into offset. ( Makes fee less important as spread over 5 years its £200 a year).
The other deals are trackers and if rates stay the same as now for next 5 years I will run the london marathon backwards twice tied to a tiger.
The First direct fee free 2.89% offset seems a good deal as long as rates stay low YOUR CHOICE.
As existing customers we got refunded most of our fees when we took out our mortgage but that was over 4 years ago and things have changed

getmore4less

How much are you borrowing? LTV?

LE3

I'm on a very low LTV (less than 40% LTV - and yes, I HAVE got that the right way round I have over 60% deposit )

getmore4less

LE3 wrote: »

I'm on a very low LTV (less than 40% LTV - and yes, I HAVE got that the right way round I have over 60% deposit )

OK you can get the best any lender has so it is down to loan size rate fees.

You said in the OP that you are on target for 9 years so you might be able to take some risk if this is based on good overpayments rather than getting old:).